What is PTI Nebraska?

This episode introduces the audience to Parent Training and Information (PTI) of Nebraska.  Discusses who we are, what we do and how we help families of children with disabilities or health care needs find resources and help. 

Transcript

PTI Presentation podcast

Welcome to Talking to Special Needs, a PTI Nebraska podcast.  Helping families of children with disabilities or health care needs to develop advocacy skills while learning about special education, health care systems and other topics that affect families’ lives.

Hello everyone and thank you for joining us today.  This is our very first episode of Talking Special Needs.  My name is Connie Shockley and today we are going to be talking about PTI Nebraska, who we are and what we do.  PTI stands for Parent Training and Information.  PTI is part of a national organization of Parent Centers.  There are over 100 Parent Centers in the US and there is at least one Parent Center in every state and territory.  Each Parent Center may have a different name, but they are referred to collectively as Parent Centers or PTIs.  The number of Parent Centers in a given state is based on population so in Nebraska we have one Parent Center versus the several that are in California.

PTIs are funded through IDEA and that is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.  IDEA is the federal law for special education.  Through the funding in IDEA, PTIs provide training, information and support parents who have a child with a disability or healthcare need.

If you’re not in Nebraska you can find your Parent Center at this following website:  www.parentcenterhub.org and click on the tab about Parent Centers.  Then click on the Find Your Parent Center and it will pull up all the Parent Centers in the US and the territories.

So let’s talk about what we do at PTI Nebraska.  We are located in Omaha however we do serve the entire state.  We assist families who have a child with disabilities or health care needs birth through adult.  There is no qualification or verified condition that is required or referral to access our services.  If you have a question and you are looking for information, please give us a call.

There is no charge for any of our services, our services are free to parents.  

Conversations are kept confidential, so we won’t share any information on what we discuss with families without their consent.

Our philosophy at PTI Nebraska is that Informed Parents equals Improved Outcomes, enabling parents to have the capacity to improve education and healthcare for their children.  We work on achieving that goal through education and information.

Some of the topics that we cover are how programs work and those would include programs such as Early Intervention, Special Education, healthcare systems, Health and Human Services systems, Social Security and other programs.

We talk about parent rights and children’s rights.  One of the big things that we are huge advocates on is communication and effectively communicating.     

We talk about how to problem solve, how to be an engaged team member and how to advocate.  Some of topics we discuss are specific disability information, and specific health condition information.  We talk to parents about community resources; what’s available in their community, and helping parents make referrals.  We also discuss a wide range of parenting issues such as potty training, finding childcare, behavioral concerns, after school programs, and things to do in the summer.

One of the services that we provide at PTI is trainings and that can either be in-person or more frequently online in some format.  Another service we offer is technical assistance to anyone interested in starting or maintaining a parent support group as well as to parents interested in leadership positions or who are in leadership positions and need information and support.

A lot of our services are around providing information.  This can be providing information either in-person, by phone or by email.  We also provide support because at PTI we are all parent professionals, we all have children with disabilities, and sometimes it’s easier for parents to connect with other parents who have gone through what they are going through.  That connections can really help parents and guiding them through their journey.

So how to parents benefit from this?

We assist parents to increase their knowledge in a variety of ways, from understanding special education regulations, to understanding and finding behavioral strategies and community resources.    We assist parents in communicating more effectively with the teams they are a part of and to help them participate in decision making.  

PTIs were created be because parents need information on a wide variety of complex issues and parents have a right and responsibility to make decisions and not just decisions but informed decisions about their child.  They are their child’s role mode, they are the first teacher for their child, they have their child’s best interest at heart, and they know their child better than anyone.  PTIs are a resource parents can go to again and again when they discover their child has a disability or health care need to learn about how to advocate for and help their child.

By giving parents the tools to be better team members for their child they won’t be afraid to ask questions.  Parents can be intimidated by the process and the professionals that they work with, so we try to give them the tools, so they are not afraid to ask the questions that they need to ask.

At PTI Nebraska we are also the home of the Family-to-Family Health Information Center in Nebraska.  The Family-to-Family Health Information Center assists parents to learn about and understand health conditions and disabilities, prepare youth for transition from high school and increase knowledge and understanding of health care professionals who serve families and youth.  The Family-to-Family Coordinator provides information and training to around topics such as medical and financial resources necessary to achieve improved health outcomes and forming partnerships with health professionals to establish a medical home.  There is also information around planning for transition that includes health, education, adult health providers, health insurance coverage and employment.

At PTI Nebraska, as I mentioned before, we are parent professionals and we are available to talk to parent and professionals by phone, email and in-person about special education, disability specific information and health care concerns.

Our current staff is Mike Tufte who is the Executive Director of PTI.  Natalie Garcia is our Hispanic Outreach Coordinator who works will families of children all ages.  Myself, Connie Shockley, I am the Early Childhood Information Specialist and I work with families who have a child ages birth to five.  Jennifer Miller and Heidi Summer are our two School Age Outreach Coordinators who assist families who have a child ages five to fourteen.  Sandy Peterson is our Transition Outreach Coordinator who works with families who have a child, ages 14 and older.  It used to be 16 and older but Nebraska recently changed the transition ages, so it went from 16 to now 14.  Lisa Hobza is our Family-to-Family Health Information Coordinator, and she works with families who have a child, birth to adult.  And Holly Schwietz who is our Project FEAT Coordinator and that is our Family Employment Awareness Training.

You can contact us or visit our office if you would like information on specific disabilities, early intervention, or special education.  We can also discuss special education if your child is in a non-public school and around health concerns.  If you would like to schedule a training in your community or if you would like information on additional resources in your community, please give us a call.

You can find us online.  Our website is www.pti-nebraska.org.  And we are also on Facebook and Twitter.  If you do go to our website, you will find information in Spanish, our current events calendar that will tell you what we have coming up, you’ll find downloadable materials on many topics, a link to our recorded trainings and information on parent leadership opportunities in the state.  There are also a variety of state and national resources listed on our website.  

If you are interested in our trainings, we have a variety of trainings that we provide covering topics such as early intervention, special education, specific disability workshops such as ADHD, TIPS for a Successful IEP Meeting, behavior, communication, transitioning out of high school, health information topics and parent leadership trainings.  

If you would like to contact us, our phone number is 402-346-0525.  You can also email us at reception@pti-nebraska.org.  

Thank you so much for listening today.  Please click on the notification and we will be having more podcasts on a variety of topics on our podcast – Talking Special Needs.  Thank you.

Thank you for joining us today on Talking Special Needs, a PTI Nebraska Podcast.  If you would like more information on today’s topic or other special needs topics, please go to www.pti-nebraska.org.  Until our next podcast internet families remember, chaos is our normal.

 
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